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Richard Garriott on Richard Garriott

Posted by Zonk on from the we-meet-again-lord-british dept.

bippy writes "I had a chance to shoot Richard "Lord British" Garriott a short list of questions for Kotaku. In the five question Q&A Garriott talks about his house, his favorite games and what he thinks the next big thing will be in MMOG."

49 comments

  1. There has to be... by Trikenstein · · Score: 1

    a Monty Python skit in this, somehow...

  2. Risen from the dead by space_jake · · Score: 0

    Lord British totally got killed in the UO beta! He ain't one of us cut off his head and release him from his unlife!

  3. doh! by BortQ · · Score: 3, Insightful
    His answer to "What is the next big thing in gaming?" are the two words Physics Simulation.

    I would have liked that answer to be fleshed out more. Unless he is trying to not give away the secrets of his next project...

    --

    A Multiplayer Strategy Game for Mac OS X, Windows, and Linux
    1. Re:doh! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      Sounds like he's talking about a game where you roll a ball down an incline and have to guess where it'll land. Y'know, just like in high school physics, except this is a video game.

    2. Re:doh! by alphaseven · · Score: 2, Insightful
      I would say physics simulation is the "current big thing". I'm guessing Garriot is talking about stuff like Havok physics, which games use to control how objects react when they're bumped into or shot or whatever. Half-Life 2 uses this a lot.

      Like before the big thing would be to make, say, a vase in a video game that was photo-realistic, reflected light the right way. Now the big deal is to have a vase that will roll around the floor realistically and will shatter into pieces when shot or dropped.

    3. Re:doh! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Are you sure he didn't say psychics simulation?

    4. Re:doh! by MMaestro · · Score: 5, Interesting
      I think physics simulation could go even further than that when you consider what types of video games are made and played. What about how a bullet would affect and/or pierce a wall? TRUELY destroyable environments? Rag-doll physics where a dead human doesn't twist his back into a 90 degree angle with his feet bent backwards so far the dead guy could kiss his feet if he wanted to? Or how about gibs where a 300 pound human being doesn't turn into neat meat chunks the size of cinder blocks?

      Theres a lot of gameplay advantages to have physics simulation over graphics IMO. Some people are going to say its really memory limitations, but considering a lot of games have glass that can be shot through or can have grenades tossed through and not completely be destroyed, a few texture changes and some tweaking you got yourself a destroyable 'wall', albeit not a very thick one (yet).

    5. Re:doh! by Quarters · · Score: 5, Interesting
      There's no special type of physics called "Havok physics". Havok is just a company that makes a middle-ware product. Many many games used Havok before HL2 did. HL2 isn't even using Havok 2 (which is 2 years old now). HL2 is using the quite old Havok 1 libraries.

      There are myriad physics libraries, both commercial and free-ware out there. Havok is but one of them. Novadex, by Aegia, is, imho, much more interesting and easier to use than Havok. It's free too, which is a big plus over having to spend tens of thousands of dollars on a middle-ware package.

    6. Re:doh! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

      Like before the big thing would be to make, say, a vase in a video game that was photo-realistic, reflected light the right way.

      Now the big deal is to have a vase that will roll around the floor realistically and will shatter into pieces when shot or dropped.

      Pisses me off. I noticed this in HL2 and Vampire Bloodlines and was unimpressed and befuddled. Your character still can't meaningfully interact with the environment any more than characters could in FPS games made nearly a decade ago... but wow, all those realistic-looking cardboard boxes (and they are _everywhere_, real subtle guys) sure bounce nicely when tumbling. Progress?

    7. Re:doh! by Scorchio · · Score: 1

      Novadex, by Aegia, is, imho, much more interesting and easier to use than Havok. It's free too, which is a big plus over having to spend tens of thousands of dollars on a middle-ware package.

      I'll point out here that Novodex is free for non-commercial use only. Anyone wanting to use their physics engine for a commercial project needs to contact them for licensing details. I imagine there's a charge and/or royalties involved there, but I'll bet my lunch it's not as expensive as Havok.

    8. Re:doh! by LWATCDR · · Score: 1

      "What about how a bullet would affect and/or pierce a wall? TRUELY destroyable environments? Rag-doll physics where a dead human doesn't twist his back into a 90 degree angle with his feet bent backwards so far the dead guy could kiss his feet if he wanted to? Or how about gibs where a 300 pound human being doesn't turn into neat meat chunks the size of cinder blocks?"

      Umm... Thanks for making me not want to play any FPS for a long time. Yea I want to see realistic disembowlment... No not really. Physics modeling should be more about manipulation and less about gore IMHO.

      --
      See my blog http://ilovecookes.blogspot.com/ for light hearted technical information.
    9. Re:doh! by MMaestro · · Score: 1
      All the things I mentioned are commonplace in FPS games lately. HL1 let you shoot through boxes (sorta), Red Faction had destroyable environments (crappy ones though), rag-doll physics were in UT2k3, and neatly shaped gibs have been around since... Soldier of Fortune? HL1? Quake? Doom 1?

      What I'm suggesting is hardly new. Hell, Thief 3 let you pick things up and throw them at people but I don't hear people saying it was 'innovative' or 'ground breaking' for doing so.

    10. Re:doh! by KlaymenDK · · Score: 1

      It's "NovodeX", actually. (novodex.com)

      A google search for "Aegia Novadex" returns exactly one hit -- your post. Congratulations on your googlewhack. ;-)

      --
      "Good news, everyone!"
    11. Re:doh! by sllim · · Score: 1

      I feel very strongly that we are coming up against a graphics ceiling. A place where more powerful video cards or new consoles fail to yeild results that make it worth the effort to produce the superior eye candy.

      When (if) this happens I see three possible results:
      1) Crash to make the original video game crash of the 80's look tame.
      2) The spare CPU power that we have to play with, the CPU power that used to get shuffled into graphics gets shuffled into some sort of OS. Imagine if someone could create an OS (maybe even only on devolopers end) that had an AI component that was self optimizing or maybe even if it could optimize on the fly. Where you could get away with writing crappy code but would still get killer results. This would shake the game publishing world to its very roots.
      3) Same as 2 except the extra CPU cycles go to a physics processor instead of the OS. What if we had a sound chip, a graphics chip, a physics chip and a general CPU?

    12. Re:doh! by flyingsquid · · Score: 1
      but wow, all those realistic-looking cardboard boxes (and they are _everywhere_, real subtle guys) sure bounce nicely when tumbling. Progress?

      Scoff now, but once games like "Unreal Tournament: Cardboard Box Arena" hit the shelves, along with titles like "Post Office Worker 3D" and "Attack of the Man-Eating Alien Cardboard Boxes", I think the video game industry will prove you wrong.

  4. Not that interesting by DuckofDeath87 · · Score: 5, Informative

    There were only 4 questions, and the last two had one sentence answers. So, to sum it up for those who don't want to RTFA, he thinks Abe's Odd World is the most creative game that he didn't make, and the next big thing in gaming will be physics simulation.

    1. Re:Not that interesting by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Abe's Odd World is creative? A game full of puzzles is novelty since when?

    2. Re:Not that interesting by nijk · · Score: 0

      Which would you choose to be: the knight in shining armor or super hero?

      Darn, I want to be a knight with super powers! But, if I had to pick... a knight!

      Seriously, who picks these questions?

  5. Re:Current working conditions. by DAldredge · · Score: 1, Funny

    Well, don't I feel stupid. Please ignore my above post.

  6. Where's the beef? by richcoder · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Richard never mentions MMOG once. I was excited to see what he had to say about it, and... nothing.

    This is one of those "thanks, but no thanks" interviews.

  7. If you were a tree... by vehn23 · · Score: 1

    n/t

  8. Not much of an interview by AbsurdProverb · · Score: 1

    Though I have not read a really interesting interview from him since his character (Lord British) was assassinated during the UO beta test. Suffice to say that was my only real memorable experience from my time in UO.

  9. what crappy questions by PaganRitual · · Score: 4, Insightful

    ... his favorite games and what he thinks the next big thing will be in MMOG.

    he didnt ever actually ask what his 'favourite' game was, only the most creative one. yawn. and the question says the next big thing in 'gaming', not MMOG. which presumably is why he said physics cause i cant see a whole lot of real time physics being put into MMORPGs at the moment.

    way to waste five questions. still, i wanna see more of his house.

  10. Some REAL questions to Gariott by MikShapi · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Yes, the interviewer is pathetic, and the choice and wording of the questions is a waste of both gariott's time and ours.

    Why not pose some REAL questions here?
    Here's my go. Richard, if you're reading this, endulge us :-)

    1. Is single-player CRPG'ing a dead-end as far as you're concerned (and does your future lie in MMO) or do you see yourself involved in future major single-player titles?

    2. Are we going to see any future CRPG-games you are involved in with an ultima-*like* atmosphere? (never mind the brand) and are they going single-player or MMO?

    3. Are we going to see any future CRPG-games you're involved in with vast illinear worlds like Ultima 6/7 or Morrowind and are they going single-player or MMO?

    4. What's your favourite *CRPG* game you were not involved in?

    5. What's the coolest thing in the CRPG market you're looking forward to? (Other than Half-Life 2 you're obviously playing same as we all, judging by that 'physics engine' bit)

    --
    -
    1. Re:Some REAL questions to Gariott by MiceHead · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Why not pose some REAL questions here? Here's my go. Richard, if you're reading this, endulge us :-)

      Since we're having fun, let me play the part of an Imaginary Richard Garriott and see what he has to say.

      MikShapi: 1. Is single-player CRPG'ing a dead-end as far as you're concerned (and does your future lie in MMO) or do you see yourself involved in future major single-player titles?

      Imaginary Richard Garriott responds: I've been authoring them since Alkabeth, and have no intention of stopping now! Some might consider the genre to have become stale, but the way I see it, it merely needs a nudge in a different direction. Things like physics simulation have been adopted from academic and industrial research. The next big thing coming out of that research could as easily be convincing AI; and I think this is what we really need to bring our computer role-playing gameworlds to life.

      MS: 2. Are we going to see any future CRPG-games you are involved in with an ultima-*like* atmosphere? (never mind the brand) and are they going single-player or MMO?

      IRG: The Ultima series was very much an extension of myself; in the same way you might be able to pick out a Jeunet film, I'm certain you'd be able to pick a Lord Brittish game out of a group, even if it didn't bear the name "Ultima."

      MS: 3. Are we going to see any future CRPG-games you're involved in with vast illinear worlds like Ultima 6/7 or Morrowind and are they going single-player or MMO?

      IRG: I think you coined a new term there. [Chuckles] Seriously: if our games can become a little more intelligent, there won't be such a distinction anymore -- linear worlds will cease to exist altogether. In other industries, there has been a great deal of research work done on compelling, computer-generated content. (For example, they finally have algorithms that can create a reasonable symphony.) It's been used in games to an extent -- the Diablo series and its spiritual predecessors, the Roguelikes, demonstrated the use of this in a primitive fashion. Consider what will happen when developers expand on this -- when events and new gameworld rules generate naturally and logically from existing conditions. At this point, CRPGs may truly become the "virtual worlds" they've been promising us for years.

      MS: 4. What's your favourite *CRPG* game you were not involved in?

      IRG: Alternate Reality by, I think, Datasoft.

      MS: 5. What's the coolest thing in the CRPG market you're looking forward to? (Other than Half-Life 2 you're obviously playing same as we all, judging by that 'physics engine' bit)

      IRG: The coolest element? I think it's collaborative building. The ability for players, as a group, to shape the gameworlds they're in is something I'd always hoped to see in an RPG.
      ---
      That concludes the interview with Imaginary Richard Gariott. We now return you to your Real Richard Gariott, who is sipping port from the window of his observatory.
      _________________________________
      Inago Rage - Fight, Fly, and Create your own levels in an indie first-person shooter.

      --
      We're indie. We're working on our 14th game.
    2. Re:Some REAL questions to Gariott by evil-osm · · Score: 1

      You ask your questions, just let me ask mine.

      1. Richard, can I please please please work for you?

      --


      E.

      Never rub another man's rhubarb - The Joker
    3. Re:Some REAL questions to Gariott by Unoti · · Score: 1
      Since we're having fun, let me play the part of an Imaginary Richard Garriott and see what he has to say...

      I definately had more fun reading you guys than reading that brain dead interview!

  11. Lord British is responsible for my ADD! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Ultima III is the best game, evar!

    I wasted 2 years of my life playing that game! And I don't mean 2 calander years, I mean 2 waking years.

    It wasn't enough that I filled the entire land area of the map with chests - I had to go and trap the whirlpool and fill the entire ocean with pirate ships!

  12. Re:Current working conditions. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Flamebait! Has the moderator read DAldredge's posting history!?

  13. Re:Current working conditions. by DAldredge · · Score: 1

    What is wrong with my posting history?

  14. Hmm.... by Taulin · · Score: 0

    Rarely spoken by me...but...I would have to give Richard the prize of 'Right guy at the Right time' award. Ultima 1-7 were nothing but the same game with better animations. They had the same interaction, etc. He had the money to try something 'different' (U8, U9) and they both kind of sucked (I played and finished them both) compared to other games of the same and previous times. I still think he is great for what he has done, and I just hope he has found a new direction, and Warren will do the same.

    1. Re:Hmm.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Definitely the right guy at the right time, but Ultima IV was brilliant for its open ended character-development, a new idea at the time.

    2. Re:Hmm.... by Haeleth · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Ultima 1-7 were nothing but the same game with better animations. They had the same interaction, etc.

      I deduce you've never played any of them, or at least, not in close proximity and not recently. You certainly wouldn't say that if you'd ever compared them side by side.

      Summary: the earlier games are vastly different from Ultima 7. 1, 2, and 3 are similar to one another but far more primitive than the later games, and very different in style: 1 includes laser guns and a space-ship, while 2 is set on a recognisable Earth! 4 and 5 are the next level up; 4 is particularly innovative in its gameplay, and it's my second favourite of the series (after Serpent Isle). But they're all far less interactive, and far less story-driven, than 6 and 7.

      Were you to show 1 and 7 to someone unfamiliar with the series, they probably wouldn't guess there was any connection at all. They're about as similar as Catacomb Abyss is to Halflife 2.

  15. Golly... by CodeWanker · · Score: 2, Funny

    Maybe if we hadn't pirated so many copies of Ultima with Ye Olde Commodore 64 and Hole Punch (to double our disk capacity) He'd have TWO awesome castles to gloat about! :) Of course, it's the mark of a TRUE Ubergeek that he built a bimbo-free version of the Playboy Mansion.

    --


    "Wow. Now THAT'S a lot of angry Indians." - Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer
  16. Aw, you got my hopes up! by Oliver+Wendell+Jones · · Score: 1

    It started out so well - "I had a chance to shoot Richard "Lord British" Garriott... and then it went downhill...

    --
    A computer once beat me at chess, but it was no match for me at kick boxing -- Emo Phillips
    1. Re:Aw, you got my hopes up! by emrysk · · Score: 1

      "I had a chance to shoot Richard "Lord British" Garriott..." I've wanted to do that ever since Ultima 7.

  17. Re:Current working conditions. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    It's not nearly left-wing enough. Not by half.

  18. Re:Current working conditions. by DAldredge · · Score: 1

    That depends.

    I have been called the following by various posters on slashdot.

    Hard Right
    Hard Left
    Liberal
    Conservative
    Raciest
    Aethiest
    Bi ble Thumper
    Satan worshiper
    Pagan

    and that is all I can come up with in a very sort time period. I do not fit into people neat little boxes and that worries some people.

  19. segue Ginsu ad... by HBI · · Score: 2, Funny

    I do not fit into people neat little boxes

    We haven't had the right kind of knife till now!

    --
    HBI's Law: Frequency of calling others Nazis is directly correlated with the likelihood of the accuser being Communist.
  20. off-topic and bored by Fortran6502 · · Score: 0

    a fart on vaginas

    --
    I am the Lizard king
  21. What's that hanging around his neck? by emrysk · · Score: 1

    It reminds me a lot of the serpent symbol from the Ultima series. (Ultima 7: Serpent Isle, anyone?)

  22. ooh by nomadic · · Score: 1

    To get to the lower floor you must open a secret passageway via a clever magnetic puzzle. A secret stair case takes you up to the kitchen or down to the lower study (or the dungeon or the wine cellar). The lower study has numerous antique science and technology items including a bunch of quack medical devices.

    6789878767653

    1. Re:ooh by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Stones?

  23. Selling Origin? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    How does he feel about EA's assassination of Origin, and the Wing Commander series?